STATUS
A new cut, as the original line through Abingdon has been largely built over.
The study is complete and plans are being made to cut the first length from the Thames.
Features:
What Jack Dalby said in 1985"
".....on the other side of which the filled bed can be followed up to the outskirts of Abingdon and beyond the foundations of a massive pillbox to the remains of Tythe Barn Lock at 485965. From here to the A34 the towpath has been preserved as a series of interconnecting footpaths through a maze of new houses.
Beyond the A34 where the canal bridge had been infilled even before abandonment, the bed, long since filled in and grased over, runs along Caldecot Road to the canal basin at the rear of the large brick building in Wilsham Road now (1985) occupied by Reynolds Office Equipment. No wharf buildings remain and the connecting lock with the Thames is buried under the entrance road. The curved stone walls marking the junction with the river form a convenient mooring for overwintering boats!
At St. Helen's Wharf nearby the cast iron bridge over the River Ock, specified in the 1795 Act but not installed until 1824, is still in use. It has been widened on the side away from the Thames to provide a footpath. Cast on the other side, in large letters, covering the whole span, is the inscription; "Erected by the Wilts & Berks Canal Co. A.D. 1824. Cast at Acramans Bristol."
The Amenity Group's current plan is to bypass Abingdon to the south.
Several routes are suggested in the Feasibility Study, and from these a potential route has been identified and surveyed.
None at present
The new route goes well outside the town, and thus bypasses all the local watering holes.
When you reach the Thames, turn right and moor up at St. Helen's Wharf. I forget the name of the pub but I can recommend it.
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